


Chapter One: The New Player in the Game

by jstrauts



Series: Arrow, The Third Season [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Arrow Season 3, Fanfiction, Season 3, Team Arrow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-04
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-02-03 09:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1740368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jstrauts/pseuds/jstrauts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four months after Slade Wilson's attack leaves Starling's citizens to begin reconstruction. Everyone, including Team Arrow, now works separate jobs, while at the same time working the Arrow angle. But it looks like Starling's got itself a new hooded hero.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chapter One: The New Player in the Game

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place post-Season 2 finale. I got tired of waiting for Season 3, so I decided to start my own. Hope you enjoy!

Four months. It has been four months since the Arrow locked up Slade Wilson in A.R.G.U.S.' maximum security prison on Lian Yu island. It has been four months and the residents of Starling City still cannot breathe easy. 

Since Slade Wilson's attack, Starling nearly burned itself into the ground. Houses and businesses were robbed and vandalized. Many sacrificed, many suffered. There were many wins, but more losses. Nearly all were victims.

Criminals were freed and experimented on. That was the explanation the government had given the citizens of Starling. The experimented bodies were collected by A.R.G.U.S., who stored them in an underground holding facility to ensure the now classified information regarding the Mirakuru injection wouldn't be released to the public. The fact that the criminals had no recollection of their wrongdoings made it easier to contain. A.R.G.U.S. is currently in the process of making the world's largest batch of its cure, just in case this endemic recurred. 

And Starling was a mess. Its citizens didn't trust its neighbors. People who were once friends are now considered suspicious. Luckily, through the mess of it all, Starling City veteran Caleb Myers rose to a leadership position. He answered no questions about running for mayor, or anything political. He wanted one thing: to rebuild the once-beautiful city he called home. He called for anyone willing to help, and he somehow banded the community together in the city's time of need. Homes were rebuilt. Businesses took out loans and started up again. Shops and restaurants reopened. Wrecked cars were towed away, burned-down buildings were in the midst of construction. Even some of those strained aforementioned relationships were in the midst of reconstruction and rebuilding. Four months and one man, who had the voice to speak up, helped his community to begin rebuilding for the better. 

Of course, it wasn't completely without the help of Starling City's own Arrow. The Arrow had managed to gather materials from cities like Gotham and Central City (whose well-known citizens had owed him favors) to help in the reconstruction. After doing an extensive search on his history, Oliver figured the man was experienced and honest enough to receive the Arrow's help. After all, the Arrow couldn't rebuild the entire city by himself.

"Right, so Roy, you take the south side. Diggle, the west. Felicity, the east, and I'll take the north," Oliver said now, motioning to the map of the city he had tacked onto the wall. 

He was different now, this Oliver. He walked around with some weight lifted off his shoulders- anyone who knew him well enough noticed it. He breathed easier, smiled a bit more, talked a bit more. He easily kept up with conversations, sure, but as always he locked away any conversations about his mother or about Thea.

Physically, he was different too. His hair had grown out a bit in the last four months, as did his beard. It wasn't the length of his hair and facial hair from his island days, but it was long enough to put some age on him. His skin was darker, sun-kissed from all the days he'd worked outside during reconstruction. There were more calluses on his hands and arms, although they were mostly from woodwork and not archery. 

Of course he still continued his patrol as the Arrow, always watching over the city. But because of all of the damages Slade had caused, he as Oliver Queen would have to help rebuild the city before the Arrow could protect it. And somehow, even the big-time criminals of Starling decided to take a break from their criminal activities. There were no large bank heists or kidnappings. But there were enough petty thefts and public disturbances to keep the Starling City Police Department on its toes. Oliver knew it was only a matter of time before the criminals sneaked out from their hiding spots, but he was slowly learning to enjoy the calm before the storm. Or in this case, the calm after the storm.

They were still using the old Foundry- sort of. Since far too many people knew of its location, the group thought it best to move it. Oliver was still uncomfortable with the fact that Amanda Waller, the woman who threatened to level his city, knew of its new location, but there wasn't much one could hide from her. The new Foundry was still undergoing construction- it still needed new floors, new walls, plus all of the electrical and training equipment that needed to be moved from the old Foundry. But since most of their things were destroyed by Slade's army, and Oliver wasn't their hideout's main source of income anymore, the project had paused. For now, they reinforced the security of the old Foundry, so that they could still use it. Felicity had somehow managed to erase the club's address from the list of properties under the Queen name, but someone was bound to notice the mistake sooner or later. 

Now, the team sat around one of their metal tables, each perched on one of the metal stools that hadn't been broken or bent. They were staring up at the map, trying to memorize the boundaries Oliver had just described.

"So you want each of us to take a portion of the city and help rebuild it?" Roy clarified. He was jotting down his notes on his cell phone.

"Yes," Oliver nodded. "I don't expect the entire city to rebuild itself in a day- hell, Caleb Myers has been working for four months. But he's doing a great job, and it's about time Team Arrow helped out."

"Hey, you called us 'Team Arrow,'" Felicity smiled, looking up from her tablet. 

It was odd for her to see Oliver in what she called 'normal clothes.' Today he was dawning an old pair of jeans, work boots, and a black shirt. Since he wasn't the billionaire CEO he once was, he had packed away all of his fancy suits, ties, and shoes. Not that anyone in Starling had been holding banquets recently.

"It's growing on me," He admitted, returning her smile.

"And are we doing this as Team Arrow? Like the Arrow and Red Arrow helping out the city, or is this us like Oliver, John, Felicity, and Roy Harper helping out?" Diggle asked.

He, on the other hand, still had to wear his suits to work. Starling's reconstruction created a great need in experienced men and women in security firms. Since he had no more source of income for he and his pregnant wife, he took the job. He now helps protect some other rich CEO of Starling.

"In whatever way we can help," Oliver shrugged. "There's a lot of work to be done, for both our Arrow lives and our normal lives."

"Hey, speaking of normal lives, we've better go," Roy said, stuffing his phone into his pocket. 

Thanks to all of the reconstruction going on in the city, there had also been a great need for those with experience in construction. Since Roy had held his own share of odd jobs, most of them in construction, his old foreman happily invited him back. He accepted- on one condition: Oliver Queen was offered a job too. 

_You're joking, right?_ His foreman had chuckled. _What does he know about construction? Girls and booze and coming back from the dead, maybe._

_Trust me, man. Okay? He can work with his hands. I can vouch for him._ It had taken some persuading until he finally agreed. 

_Fine. But if I hear one complaint about how it's too dirty or too hot or he's in pain from some stupid splinter or whatever baby nonsense he complains about, you're both fired._

Roy was sporting a similar outfit as Oliver: worn-out jeans, work boots, and a slightly dirty white shirt. 

"Right, work. I'll see you guys later," Oliver nodded, following him out of the Foundry.

"Oliver Queen, working in construction. Can you believe that?" Diggle chuckled as the doors closed.

"I know, I snuck onto their construction site the other day to grab some pictures." She smiled. "But I'm glad Roy actually got him a job," Felicity admitted a moment later. "Nobody else in Starling would take him."

"Well it's not like there were any ads asking for ex-billionaire master archers," Digg pointed out. "But what about you? How's your job?"

Felicity shrugged. "Same old, same old."

She had sent her résumé to every job opening she could, but even a personal letter of recommendation from Oliver Queen didn't have enough pull to get the job she wanted. It wasn't until a very small, low-paying company from the north side of town called her up and offered her the position as head of their IT department. She had agreed right away and was asked to start as soon as possible. 

When she got there, she realized the company had stuffed itself into a tiny two-floor complex, where the IT department consisted of herself and four other twenty-something-year-old guys wedged in a tiny corner of the first floor. In fact, the 'company' hadn't been a company at all. It was more of an up-and-coming technology shop that sold very low-end products.

"I fix computers for a living, Digg," She sighed. "What do you expect? How's the security thing going for you?"

"Well, I can admit he's a lot less interesting than my previous boss," He joked. "At least this one doesn't wear a green hood and aims darts at people." 

"Well at least," She laughed. "Hey, I gotta go. I'm volunteering at that supermarket over on Fifth Street today."

"Be careful," He warned.

"Thanks, Digg. You too."

\--------------------------------------------------

Roy sighed as he got into his truck. Well, his borrowed truck, but nobody's reported it stolen yet, so for now it was his. He pulled out his wallet and plucked out the picture of him and Thea from one of the credit card slots. He smiled. It was of them during one of their dates. She had insisted on taking a picture because he had ketchup on his face and couldn't get lick off. She had offered to clean it for him- with her tongue. He laughed at the memory and rubbed his thumb across Thea's face. 

"I miss you," He muttered. 

Suddenly, his phone rang and Felicity's smiling face beamed up at him.

"Yeah?" He tucked the picture back in its slot and stuffed his wallet into his pocket.

"Oliver wanted me to remind you that you have to help clean up the-"

"South side of the city, I know," He finished for her. "Why are you the one telling me this? I just saw him, like, fifteen minutes ago."

"Don't know, I'm just taking orders." He could picture her shrugging, her comm in her ear as she sat working at her desk in the Foundry.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks," He ended the call without hearing her reply and tossed it into the seat beside him. He sighed again as he pulled out of his parking spot. 

\---------------------------------------------------

Thirty minutes later Felicity's phone rang again. The sound echoed in the large room, making her jump. 

"Hello?" She pressed the button in her comm and casually looked behind her. She was alone in the Foundry, and couldn't help but look over her shoulder every few moments or so, or whenever one of the lights start flickering.

"Yeah, that thing that Oliver wanted me to do? Help clean up that children's park on South? It's done already."

"Done?" She typed on a few keys and pulled up the street cameras from that area. "What do mean, 'done'?"

"I mean it's done," He scoffed. "I'm looking right at it. You are too, aren't you? On one of the street cams? The thing's all clean! The garbage's picked up, the slides and swings are all set up. All the fallen trees are all piled up neat in the corner. Hell, even the streetlamps are all fixed."

"Yeah, I see that," She mumbled, biting her lip. "How, though? According to Myers' plans, that park was supposed to take a week to fix up."

"I don't know!" He shrugged. He looked around from his perched spot on the hood of his truck. It was getting late. "But there's kids playing and laughing in there, so I guess I'm done for the night."

"Uh, yeah. I guess you are. I'll see you later." She muttered, her eyes still staring at the screen. But how? 

Her fingers flew over her keyboard as she tried to rewind the footage from that day. The park had been ready to open all day. When she got to last night's footage, a moving figure caught her eye. Her jaw dropped.

"No way."

\-------------------------------------------------

The next morning, the team met in the old Foundry, just as they did nearly every morning. Homemade sandwiches (courtesy of Felicity and Lyla) and a large thermos of coffee (courtesy of Oliver) was laid out on the table, along with cups and napkins.

"What do you mean, 'the park was all clean'?" Oliver asked in disbelief. "I saw that park for myself! Burned down trees and garbage covered that entire area!"

"Hey, when I got there it was clean. Kids were already playing in it," Roy shrugged, taking another swig of coffee. He was wearing the same outfit he was from yesterday, with the addition of his favorite red hoodie.

"That's the same with me," Digg said, standing up. "Felicity, can you pull up that row of houses that needed help clearing debris over on Bowers Street?"

She nodded, pulling up the footage. They all stared in awe as the once garbage-, concrete-, and debris-packed section of houses were replaced with a team of citizens carrying some kind of tool. Some were reinforcing the main structure of the house, some were painting, and others were clearing the weed and garbage from the sidewalks. The house towards the end of the street already had furniture movers moving in a new couch.

"That's not possible," Oliver muttered. He placed his hand on Felicity's shoulder. "Felicity, can you check-"

"Myers' agenda? Already did," She said, pulling up a copy on the screen. "Clearing all that debris was supposed to take at least three days, Oliver. And that park Roy was gonna help clean was supposed to take a week, at least. But somehow the park's all done and the houses are all ready to be rebuilt."

"Okay, why are we even questioning this?" Roy asked, returning to his stool. He took another sip of his coffee and put another sandwich on his napkin. "Isn't it a good thing that so much is being done already?"

"Yeah, but you gotta admit it's kind of odd that so much is happening so quickly," Diggle pointed out. 

"Wait. Is that Myers? Can you pull that up?" Oliver pointed to the television, which divided its screen into four channels. Felicity enlarged the screen of Caleb Myers speaking in front of the South Street park. She pressed another key to unmute it.

"... been wonderful for Starling City!" He laughed. "Look at this! Children are playing and enjoying themselves! My own grandchildren came to this park to enjoy today's beautiful weather! I haven't heard them laugh like this in ages!"

"So how do you explain how the park was completed over night?" Someone asked.

"A guardian angel?" He chuckled. "Isn't that what we called the Arrow before? I would just like send out a personal thanks to the Arrow, and to his team of hooded heroes. Without them, these children wouldn't have a place to play, and those over on Bowers wouldn't be moving into their homes so quickly!"

"'Team of hooded heroes'?" Diggle furrowed his eyebrows. "Oliver, did you do that?"

"Not unless Oliver and Roy suddenly grew a ponytail," Felicity said. All eyes turned to her.

"What are you talking about?" Roy asked, wiping his hand on his thigh.

"Guys, look." She pulled up the camera footage of the park from two nights ago, starting at nine PM. "The cleaning crew left at eight, when it got really dark. But watch this." The camera suddenly switched angles, and now captured the empty sidewalk. "See? Someone moved the camera."

"Okay, so we have a hooded hero who doesn't want to be named? How did anyone link them back to Oliver?" Roy looked at her.

"Like this," She sped forward the tape and changed it to slow motion. Once the camera was moved back into it's original position, a dark figure could be seen running towards the middle of the park. The figure raised a bow and arrow and shot an arrow at the building beside it. Felicity paused it as the figured reeled herself up the building. "See? That's a ponytail. A long, dark-haired ponytail."

"Don't tell me your hooded archery thing is contagious," Diggle snorted. "Was she responsible for the houses on Bowers too?"

"Yeah," She nodded, pulling up last night's footage. Whoever it was moved the camera again, cleaned the debris in record time, and returned the camera to its original position. 

"Wait, go back," Diggle said suddenly, stepping forward. She nodded as the footage slowly rewound itself. "There."

"What?" Oliver narrowed his eyes. They were all leaning over her, eyes narrowed at the screen.

"She's not hooded," Felicity said, enlarging the picture. "Hang on, I think I can clean it up a bit." 

"What is that, a mask?" Roy tilted his head. "'Cause otherwise, how can we see her hair, right? Damn, she's got a body on her though."

The figure was definitely a woman. Her costume, whatever it consisted of, hugged her body tightly. It was definitely a mask that covered her face, with what seemed to be an opening in the back to let out her hair.

"Find out who she is, Felicity, and what she's doing here. We don't know if she's a friend or a foe."

"She helped clean up a park and people's houses. I'd say she was friend," Roy shrugged. 

Suddenly, Felicity's monitor shut off.

"Hey!" She repeatedly pressed the power button, but nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" Oliver asked.

Just then, the Foundry's lights flickered off. Darkness surrounded them, the only sound emitted from the old pipes in the ceiling and walls. Quickly, Diggle turned on the room's emergency light, which flickered for a bit before shutting off. Darkness surrounded them again. 

"Guys, positions. Felicity, take my hand," Oliver reached out to her and she took it willingly. He pushed her behind him and slowly walked backwards until he bumped into Roy and Diggle. They formed a circle, each coiled for action, with Felicity in the center. "Be ready for anything."

They heard metal creaking, their heads immediately turned towards the stairs.

"Someone's here," Felicity whispered, placing her hand on Oliver's arm. 

"Who's there!" He shouted out. More creaking. "Show yourself!" 

The emergency light flickered on for a moment, casting light on a shadow beneath them.

"Up there!" Roy called out. The light flickered on and off again, the figure gone.

Although the darkness would prove to be a disadvantage for many, Oliver was used to it. His senses heightened as he closed his eyes. He heard metal clanging and bumping into each other. Then there was another noise. It was soft, but his trained ears caught the familiar sound of an arrow being pulled back on a drawstring. Then it released. 

"Everyone- duck!" Oliver shouted, his arm instinctively reached back to shield Felicity's head. They heard the sound of something flying through the air, followed by the sound of metal piercing concrete. And then silence. 

The lights flickered on.

"Roy, let's go," Diggle said, leading him out of the Foundry.

"Are you okay?" Oliver squeezed Felicity's arm.

"Uh, yeah," She looked down at herself. "You?"

"Fine," He nodded. Felicity's eyes scanned the room. She tapped his arm. "Oliver, look."

He followed her gaze to the arrow in the wall. A piece of paper was stuck beneath it.

"We couldn't find her," Roy panted as he jogged down the stairs. Diggle was at his six. "What's that?"

"A note," He said pulling it off the arrow.

"What's it say?" Digg asked. 

"'Looks like you need all the help you can get, Arrow.' Signed, a friend," He handed the paper to Felicity. "Check this for prints. Check the doors, the electrical boxes, everything. Find out who she is."


End file.
